Bodies Unbound: The Classical and Grotesque

The essential mission of Bodies
Unbound: The Classical and Grotesque has been to understand two distinct
types of bodies—the “Classical” and “Grotesque”—and to open up the definitions
of these bodies for broader interpretation. While the classical figure embodies
the tradition of proportionality, containment, and idealization, the grotesque
body is defined by protrusion, openness, and materiality. Polykleitos, the
famous sculptor of Antiquity, provides a foundation for the characteristics of
the classical body, suggesting that perfection and beauty emerge from clearly
defined boundaries, order, balance, and the interdependence of parts to achieve
a harmonious whole. Modern thinker and critic Mikhail Bakhtin has been equally
fundamental to theorizing the grotesque, positing that a grotesque body must
expand beyond its own natural limits to subvert typically conceived norms. Both
of these frameworks, however, necessitate distortion of the human form, and as
a result, the same manipulated body can be read as both classical and
grotesque.

This overlap manifests itself throughout Bodies Unbound. For example, the bodies
meant to represent an “ideal”—in Martha Rosler’s Bowl of Fruit, Goltzius’s Neptune,
and Barbie—exhibit exaggerated and distorted parts, which join to form an
unnatural body. The construction of these bodies requires them to exceed beyond
their natural state and in this way become grotesque; that is, in an effort to
render a “perfect” model (Classical), these bodies ultimately display an
impossible mixture of parts (Grotesque). The exhibition highlights a number of
other themes that similarly blur boundaries: images of isolation and the crowd
explore the physical limits of the body in relation to space; anthropomorphism
points to the similarities and differences between human and animal bodies;
objectification and spectacle comment on the material nature of the body;
portraiture explores methods and types of representation; and fragmented body
parts and extremities question the idea of a unified body. The exhibition has
been arranged within the gallery in loose thematic groups to allow for new and
unexpected connections to surface as well.

It is our hope that these themes, in conjunction with the
range of artworks on view, will provide a broad foundation for the visitor’s
own contemplation. Ultimately, we are not concerned with writing a new and
definitive definition of either “Classical” or “Grotesque”; rather, we aim to highlight the myriad threads
that relate to these terms, and to open up a discussion concerning the endless
ideas that they conjure. Just as the body can be ordered, disordered, arranged,
and rearranged, so, too, can the definitions of the body.

In the end, this show urges its visitors to question how
they perceive, understand, and react to the body. We also invite viewers to
consider the characteristics that define a body: What makes a body recognizable
or unfamiliar; ugly or beautiful; strange or understandable; classical or
grotesque? Why do artists choose to manipulate the human body? How can we
unbind definitions of the body, and what do we gain by unbinding the physical
body itself?

This exhibition is funded in part by a grant from the Cornell Council for the Arts and a generous gift from Betsey and Alan Harris.